Analyte detection in physiological fluids, e.g. blood or blood derived products, is of ever increasing importance to today's society. Analyte detection assays find use in a variety of applications, including clinical laboratory testing, home testing, etc., where the results of such testing play a prominent role in diagnosis and management in a variety of disease conditions. Analytes of interest include glucose for diabetes management, cholesterol, and the like. In response to this growing importance of analyte detection, a variety of analyte detection protocols and devices for both clinical and home use have been developed.
One type of method that is employed for analyte detection is an electrochemical method. In such methods, an aqueous liquid sample is placed into a reaction zone in an electrochemical cell comprising two electrodes, i.e. a reference and working electrode, where the electrodes have an impedance which renders them suitable for amperometric measurement. The component to be analyzed is allowed to react directly with an electrode, or directly or indirectly with a redox reagent to form an oxidizable (or reducible) substance in an amount corresponding to the concentration of the component to be analyzed, i.e. analyte. The quantity of the oxidizable (or reducible) substance present is then estimated electrochemically and related to the amount of analyte present in the initial sample.
Because of the broad applicability of electrochemical based detection protocols, there continues to be interest in the identification of new devices and methods in this area.